Rosacea is an incurable but treatable skin condition similar to acne that affects around 5% of the population. Often referred to as acne rosacea it tends to affect the face especially around the nose and cheeks areas and varies in terms of severity. It typically results in blood vessels in your face becoming more noticeable, your skin becoming flushed and small white pus-filled zits appearing at times, too.
Rosacea should be treated before attempting laser hair removal on affected areas. While laser and light-based technologies have hair removal qualities, machines are condition specific and may be good for hair removal or skin conditions but not both. Only certain laser machine models are suitable for skin conditions like rosacea.
Can you get laser hair removal if you have rosacea?
Laser and light-based hair removal like Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is often used to treat severe rosacea when medications fail. So both methods may also be used to deal with unwanted hair but each specific model may only be suitable for one purpose ie. hair removal or a skin condition such as rosacea.
Laser technology
Laser has long been used to provide longer term hair removal than other traditional hair removal techniques such as waxing or shaving. While electrolysis came before laser hair removal and is actually permanent when done properly and repeatedly, it is only able to treat one hair at a time. Thus electrolysis is time-consuming and costly. It’s also not a great choice for larger more hair-dense body parts like arms, legs, chest, back and shoulders.
Laser hair removal is capable of treating a larger amount of hair in a shorter period of time albeit not permanently. While numerous treatments over time can permanently reduce the amount of unwanted hair, laser can’t be advertised fairly as permanent hair removal because it is not.
But as we’ll see below, not all laser machines were designed to assist with rosacea and other skin conditions.
IPL technology
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) was originally used for vascular conditions and later became known by accident as a technology that can help with long term hair removal. IPL uses a broad spectrum and thus non-focused beam of light.
In that regard, there appears to be some debate as to whether or not IPL is really suitable for rosacea when compared to specific lasers that were designed specifically for skin conditions and use a focused beam.
While you can find clinics who offer IPL for rosacea treatment, you often find surgeons who claim that they sometimes deal with IPL patients who didn’t have success and then turn to laser to correct it.
Hair removal or rosacea treatment: What comes first?
If you desire to have hair removal on your face but also suffer from rosacea, what should you treat first? Can one laser treat both at the same time?
Your chosen hair removal clinic will probably only be capable of doing the hair removal and it’s likely that a surgeon’s office performing rosacea treatment won’t do hair removal. Even if you find an office that does both, it’s likely you’d need to utilize different machines for each service.
In that regard, you’re better off first dealing with your rosacea before tackling hair removal. The rosacea is a skin condition that should be addressed and once that is dealt with, you can decide on the best course of action for hair removal. A quality hair removal clinic won’t treat certain people for hair removal who have preexisting conditions and rosacea would certainly qualify.
Do all lasers work equally well for hair removal and rosacea?
No they don’t.
There are four types of laser used for hair removal but then there are numerous companies that manufacture dozens of laser machine models that offer various features and benefits on top of that. Some laser machines are good for hair removal. Some are better suited to deal with rosacea-specific issues like facial redness and facial veins.
Upon researching websites from surgeons who specifically help patients with rosacea, I came across a number of them who use specific laser machines to treat rosacea. Examples include the:
Perfecta Laser by Candela: Its a pulsed-dye laser used mainly to treat discoloration on the face and body. So it’s a commonly used laser for rosacea among other conditions.
Excel-V Laser by Cutera: It was designed to treat vascular skin conditions such as rosacea so it’s another popular option and since it has been used since the 1980s, has a long track record of success to point to.
QuadroStar PROYELLOW: From German manufacturer Asclepion, the PROYELLOW is a high-powered Optically Pumped Semiconductor Laser introduced in 2014 for various vascular skin conditions including rosacea. Since it’s relatively new compared to other options like the V-Laser, there isn’t nearly as much data or long term research. I have found a number of clinics online who do use it however.
Here’s a short video from a surgeon who has himself suffered from rosacea who not only discusses the condition but also offers very interesting insight and suggestions on how to deal with it on top of treatment options.
Medications are often used to treat rosacea first
Before laser or IPL are used to treat rosacea, drugs are often utilized to deal with it in the first instance. Medications such as oral antibiotics (doxycycline or tetracycline), topical medications applied directly to the affected areas (brimonidine, azelaic acid, and metronidazole) or an anti-acne medication like isotretinoin (Amnesteem, Claravis and other brands) are commonly used.
You might also hear about drugs like Mirvaso, Rhofade, Azelex, Finacea, Metrogel, Noritate or Soolantra. There are many options available that fall into different classifications of drugs. Depending on the severity, they may be used individually or in conjunction with one another to treat your rosacea symptoms.
But not everyone wants to use a drug(s) and they may not work for all patients. So laser and IPL are often utilized when drugs fail to work or when people want a longer term solution without using medication.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the global prevalence of rosacea
is believed to be 5.46% based on research from the British Association of Dermatologists which is similar to the US rate of about 5%.
Hair removal problems are exacerbated with rosacea
Rosacea can make shaving and other forms of hair removal difficult. It can make already irritated and reddened skin worse.
Alternative hair removal options to laser if you have rosacea
Since shaving can be a problem for men with rosacea, there are several other options to consider if you are unable to get your rosacea under control beyond laser or IPL.
Electrolysis may be suitable to remove individual hairs. It involves using a probe to zap each hair and then remove each one manually with tweezers.
Check out this interview I did with an electrologist who originally started his practice for men since electrolysis was typically marketed only towards women. While electrolysis can be time-consuming since it removes hairs one by one, it is also the only hair removal method listed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to offer permanent hair removal.
In that regard, with multiple treatments it could at least solve your shaving concerns related to rosacea by removing the hairs in the areas that are affected.
And finally if possible, you could also reduce the frequency in which you shave areas that experience rosacea.
Reduce rosacea symptoms and severity
While your are trying to figure out how to deal with rosacea and hair removal simultaneously, there are things you can do to potentially reduce the rosacea symptoms you experience.
Unfortunately, many rosacea triggers are regular everyday activities that you might not be able to avoid whereas others can’t reasonably be eliminated from your life:
Common rosacea triggers
- Common triggers include sunlight, stress, spicy foods, alcohol, hairspray, dairy products and other foods with histamines.
- Exercise, coffee and sauna usage can also trigger rosacea symptoms so there is a wide variety of them, many of which you may prefer not to stop doing.
With that being said, there are some things you can do to perhaps help with you rosacea symptoms:
Reduce rosacea triggers
- Use sunscreen when outdoors to protect your skin against the sun.
- Add a clear UV-blocking protective window film on the inside of your car windows to block dangerous rays from getting inside and triggering your rosacea while driving.
- Avoid face products that irritate the skin such as granular face scrubs.
- Try to avoid touching your face as dirt and contaminants on your fingers can exacerbate symptoms.
- Investigate hair removal options other than shaving that can further irritate the skin in areas affected by rosacea.
- Shave less frequently if possible and also test different shaving products and methods to see if some irritate your skin less than others.
Once you have rosacea dealt with, you can go ahead with hair removal options that may include laser, IPL or other treatments.
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